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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to flying toys and more particularly to boomerangs and flying ring toys adapted to be thrown by a user and methods of making such toys.
2. Background of the Invention
Boomerang type hand-thrown flying devices designed for purposes of sport and hunting originated in the early aboriginal days when such devices were used as weapons for fighting and hunting. When thrown properly by the user the boomerang would fly in a circle, spinning rapidly and return to the thrower if it missed its target. These early boomerangs were predominantly v-shaped and made of heavy wood with sharpened edges in order to disable a target when struck. The design made catching such devices upon their return inherently dangerous, so the thrower would generally let the boomerang hit the ground near their feet.
More recently many hand-launched boomerang type toys have been designed for purposes of entertainment and competition. Flying toys have been designed and improved upon over the years, with improved return flight performance and the ability to be safely caught by the thrower upon return. Many of these devices have multiple blades extending from a central hub, and are constructed of light woods, rigid plastic material, and other lightweight materials to improve flight characteristics such as lift, flight distance and return flight. Some devices are made with a rigid metal core covered with soft rubber material to allow the thrower to safely catch them on their return flight.
Other related flying toys have been developed such as the Aerobie, the Frisbee, and flying ring type toys. Unlike boomerangs, which generally travel in a circular path parallel to the ground, these devices are either thrown from person to person in a horizontal line, or thrown upwardly at an angle and they slide back down to the original thrower. To improve their flight performance characteristics, some of the boomerang and flying ring or disc toys have aerodynamic features, such as lifting surfaces, arms that bend upwards as they extend from a central hub, airfoil features at the ends of the arms, and portions of convex or concave surfaces. Making such devices, however, has proved challenging because enhancing flying toys with such aerodynamic features requires a plurality of steps to manufacture the device, thereby increasing their complexity and cost. The end users of such devices, in addition to having to assemble the parts with medium to high degrees of precision, may have to adjust the parts by bending the arms to optimum angles or aerodynamic shapes in order for the flying toys to exhibit certain flight characteristics, such as return flight. This process can be very frustrating to the users, especially when the users are children, who very quickly lose interest when the toys do not perform as they are shown to perform in commercials and other advertisements.
One of the difficulties encountered by manufacturers of flying toys is that a lot of material is wasted due to the design of blade arms or circular discs of rather large radii, which are unitary pieces cut or formed from large standard size sheets of material such as plastic or lightweight wood. Additionally, the volume required for shipping and in-store display of such devices has traditionally been excessive due to their size and fragility.
Accordingly, there is a substantial need in the art for improved flying toys and methods for making the same to overcome the problems noted above, and which improve xe2x80x9coff the shelfxe2x80x9d flight characteristics, improve safe use, can be inexpensively made with little or no wasted material, and can be shipped and displayed at minimal cost.
The present invention specifically addresses and alleviates the above mentioned deficiencies associated with the prior art. In this regard, the present invention comprises improved boomerang and flying ring toys and methods of making such toys.
The boomerang flying toy has a plurality of blade arms with tapered perimeter edges along their respective cut lines, which act like airfoils to give the boomerang flying toy improved aerodynamic performance characteristics. The blade arms extend radially outward at equal angles from a central hub portion, where they are held together by interlocking fastener plates or self-adhesive decals affixed to the top and bottom surfaces at the junction of the blade arms. The top and bottom surfaces have optically perceived indicia on them to increase the toy""s appearance and can be used to display a wide range of information including graphics, logos, advertisement, sales, and promotional information.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a flying ring toy with airfoil-like tapered perimeter edges for improved flight performance made by die cutting two circles of varying radii, which circumscribe the blade arms of the boomerang type flying toy. In essence this flying ring is a bonus toy, which adds virtually no additional cost in the manufacturing of the boomerang flying toy. Additionally, the flying ring toy requires no assembly by the user and has optically perceived indicia on the top and bottom surfaces.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a method of making the boomerang and flying ring toys in combination by die cutting a sheet of thin, lightweight planar material comprising a foam center sandwiched between top and bottom opposed parallel surfaces of paperboard stock.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a flying toy that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, package, ship, and display.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a safe, fun, and easy-to-use flying toy that is easily assembled and requires no testing or manipulation of its parts to perform as intended with enhanced flight performance characteristics, such as return flight.
It is a further object of the present invention to have optically perceived indicia on the top and bottom surfaces of the flying toys, which can readily be used for advertisement or promotional information. The optically perceived indicia can be spin indicia that generates an image when the flying toy is spinning through the air.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a flying toy by simply die cutting the flying toy from a sheet of planar material. According to another aspect of the present invention, an additional flying ring toy is provided with virtually no additional cost to manufacture by merely making two additional circular die cuts.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, various features of embodiments of the invention.